Daily Deduction

Caution, Cuts, and a Chunk of Change

Minnesota’s governor scales back his budget proposal. Given worries about an economic slowdown, Democratic Governor Mark Dayton says, “We need to be very cautious in what we obligate in tax cuts and spending increases.” The governor proposes $700 million in new spending, including $117 million in tax cuts for education expenses and working families, $100 million for expanded high-speed Internet access in rural Minnesota, and another $100 million to address racial inequities. That leaves a $202 million financial cushion for state’s two-year budget cycle. And he’s got additional padding totaling about $1.9 billion in Minnesota’s rainy day fund and cash-flow account.

The British government wants to cut its corporate tax. Chancellor of he Exchequer George Osborne proposes to lower the tax from 20 percent to 17 percent by 2020. But he would hit soft drinks with a sugar tax of 18-24 pence per liter, paid by producers or importers of the drinks.

Big French banks make a chunk of international change in tax havens. Five of the country’s biggest banks earned close to $5.5 billion in international profits in 2014, and paid $914 million in taxes in their respective jurisdictions, according to a new report by Oxfam. France is the first country to implement a European Union law that requires banks to disclose the taxes they pay in each country in which they operate.

Today on the Hill. The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing to review the Affordable Care Act’s website operations and enrollment.

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